Wrapper for surgical gloves



Oct. 13, 1959 J. w. DEARHOLT WRAPPER FOR SURGICAL GLOVES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Npv. 26, 1958 Oct. 13, 1959 J. W. DEARHOLT WRAPPER FOR SURGICAL GLOVES.

Filed Nov. 26, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WRAPPER FOR SURGICAL GLOVES John W. Dearholt, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Will Ross, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation ofWisconsm Application November 26, 1958, Serial No. 776,534

4 Claims. ((1150-52) This invention relates to equipment for sterilizing surgical gloves, and refers more particularly to a wrapper for surgical gloves into .which such gloves may be inserted for autoclaving and in which they may be stored'until ready for use.

Surgical gloves must be sterilized by some other method than boiling because when they are boiled the rubber of which they are made tends to imbibe water, causing the gloves to lose their elasticity and tensile strength. Sterilization by superheated steam is satisfactory for surgical gloves, provided the steam is saturated; but if air is mixed with the steam, the gloves tend to deteriorate rapidly. Hence when surgical gloves are autoclaved it is necessary that their cuff portions be held open to permit air to pass readily out of them and steam to flow into their interiors. V g

It has become conventional to'wrap surgical gloves in a suitable fabric wrapper or envelope prior to sterilization, so that they need not be exposed to contamination during removal from the sterilizer and during subsequent storage until ready for use. In order to provide for the escape of air from the interior of each glove in the wrapper, the previous common practice has been to insert a folded gauze sponge or the like into the cuff portion of the glove, by which the opposing faces of that'part of the glove were held separated. This practice made it necessary to have additional material and equipment on hand when gloves were being prepared for sterilization, and it entailed additional labor. It was also possible to neglect or overlook insertion of the separator, or to have a separator shift its position or fall out of a glove before it was autoclaved, with the result that the glove would be ruined by sterilization.

By contrast with this past practice, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wrapper in which a plurality of surgical gloves may be autoclaved and in which they may be stored until required for use, which wrapper incorporates simple and inexpensive means for holding open the cuff portion of each glove in the wrapper during sterilization, to insure that air can flow freely out of the interior of the glove and steam can flow into it.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of an improved wrapper for surgical gloves, of the character described, having a plurality of tabs, each of which may be very readily inserted into the cuff portion of a glove in the wrapper, and by which tab said portion of the glove is held spread apart during sterilization, the tabs being so secured to the wrapper as to virtually insure their proper insertion into each glove, and by their securement to the wrapper providing assurance that they will not be displaced out of the gloves during subsequent handling.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one complete example of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best mode so far devised for' the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure l is a top perspective View of the surgical glove wrapper of this invention, showing the same in position to have a pair of surgical gloves installed therein;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but illustrating the manner in which a surgical glove is inserted into the wrapper;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the plane of the line 3-3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the wrapper with a pair of gloves installed therein;

Figure 5 is a top perspective view of the wrapper with a pair of gloves in place therein, and with the wrapper partially folded; and

Figure 6 is a top perspective view of the fully folded wrapper, enclosing a pair of gloves and ready to be placed in a sterilizer.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the numeral 5 designates generally a wrapper for surgical gloves embodying the principles of this invention and comprising, in general, an elongated rectangular body member 6, an inwardly opening elongated pocket 7 extending along one ofthe longer marginal edge portions 8 of the body member, and i All parts of the wrapper of this invention are made of supple material, muslin fabric or the like being well adapted for the purpose. The body member 6 is of sufficient length to be folded, as at 12, into four substantially equal quarters, each providing a panel 14, 15, 16, 17 which is somewhat wider than the width of a surgical glove 18. The depth of the body member, as measured along its shorter edges, is slightly greater than the length ofasurgical glove having its cuff 2'4 rolled forwardly in the manner illustrated in Figure 2.

The elongated pocket 7 is preferably formed by folding the marginal edge portion 8 of the body blank inwardly over itself and sewing the short end edges of the folded portion to the underlying edge portions of the body, as at 19, sothat the pocket 7 extends uninterruptedly along the entire length of said one marginal edge portion of the body member and opens inwardly.

Each of the tabs 9 comprises a substantially deep, narrow pocket, readily formed by folding. an elongated strip of material transversely upon itself and sewing its adjacent longitudinal edges together, as at 20. Each tab is sewed or otherwise fastened to the body member along the long edge 10 of the body member which is remote from the elongated pocket 7, the tab being otherwise free to swing to and from a normal position flatwise overlying the body member, and the two tabs being substantially centered in the medial panels 15 and 16 so as to be laterally spaced from one another. When the tabs are in their normal positions their inner ends (21 are spaced from the mouth of the elongated pocket 7, while the mouth 22 of the pocket formed by each tab opens toward the edge 10 of the body member to which the tab is secured.

A surgical glove 18 to be inserted into the wrapper of this invention for autoclaving has its cuff portion 24 rolled forwardly upon itself, and the glove is drawn over one of the tabs 9. As seen in Figure 2, insertion of the tab into the cuff portion of the glove is greatly facilitated because the operator can insert two fingers into the pocket- Patented Oct. 13, 1959' air can readily flow out of the interior'of the rove and be replaced by sterilizing steam.

The tip portions of the finger members of the glove are inserted into the elongated pocket 7, and the outer panels 14 a'nd-1-7 of the body'member are foldedover' their adjacent inner panels 15 and 16 respectively. The enclosure is then folded on'its'center' fold line, to bring the outer p'an'elstogether and substantially completely enclose the gloves in an envelope which compactly disposes them in superimposed relationship; separated by the two' outer panels.- The gloves are thus securely held in the wrapper, each confined lengthwise between one of the tabs 9 and the elongated pocket 7, but they are nonethelessreadily accessible, after they are sterilized, upon mere unfolding of'the wrapper.

From the foregoing description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that'this invention provides a wrapper for surgical gloves wherein the same may be autoclaved and stored until ready for use; and wherein such gloves are held with their cuif portions spread apart during autoclaving to permit free passage of air out of their interiors. It will also be apparent that insertion of gloves into the wrapper of this invention, as well as their removal therefrom, is very easy, but that the gloves are nonetheless held very securely in the position desired.

What is claimed as my invention is:

1. A wrapper in which surgical gloves may be autoclaved and in which they may thereafter be stored until ready for use, said wrapper comprising: an elongated rectangular fabric body having a shallow, elongated pocket extending the entire length of one longitudinal edge of the body and opening to the opposite edge thereof, in which pocket the outer portions of the finger parts of a pair of gloves are adapted to be received; and a" pair of fabric tabs, each extending inwardly across the body from said opposite longitudinal edge thereof, said tabs being spaced from one another and from the adjacent shorter edges'of the body, and each of said tabs being secured to the body adjacent to said opposite longitudinal edge thereof but being otherwise free of the body, and each tab providing a pocket opening toward said opposite longitudinal edge of the body and into which an operators fingers may he slipped to facilitate insertion of the tab into the wrist portion of a surgical glove having its fingers received in said shallow, elongated pocket.

2. A' wrapper in which surgical gloves may be autoclaved and in which they may thereafter be stored'until ready for use, said wrapper comprising: a rectangular body of supple material; a pair of pocket like tabs of supplematerial, each secured 'to the body adjacent to one longitudinal edge thereof but otherwise free of the'body,

said tabs being spaced from one another along the length of the body, and also spaced from the shorter edges of the body, and each of said tabs, when fiatwise overlying the body, extending toward the other longitudinal edge thereof and having its mouth opening toward said first designated longitudinal edge of the body so that the fingers of an operator can be inserted into the tab to guide it into the wrist portion of a surgical glove; and means on said body defining pocket portions extending along said other longitudinal edge of the body, opening toward the.

first designated longitudinal edge thereof, in which the finger portions of gloves on said tabs may be received.

3. A wrapper in which surgical gloves may be autoclavcd and in which they may thereafter be stored until ready for use, said wrapper comprising: an elongated rectangular body sheet foldable transversely to its length into four substantially equal panels; a pair of tabs, each secured to the sheet adjacent to one longitudinal edge thereof, but being otherwise free of the body sheet, each of said tabs being adapted to flatwise overlie one of the medial panels of the body sheet and extend partway to the other longitudinal edge thereof, and each comprising a pocket opening toward said one longitudinal edge of the body sheet and into which an operators fingers may be inserted to facilitate insertion of the tab into the wrist portion of a surgical glove; and means on the body sheet defining a pocket having its mouth spaced from the inner end of each tab when the tab flatwise overlies the body sheet, and opening toward the tab, into which pocket the tip portions of the finger members of a surgical glove on the tab are insertable.

4. In a wrapper in which surgical gloves may be autoclaved, comprising a sheet of supple material adapted to enwrap the gloves to protect them after autoclaving and until they are ready for use, means for keeping open the cuif portion of gloves in the wrapper during autoclaving to insure escape of air from the inside of the gloves and entry of steam thereinto, said means comprising: a plurality of pocket like tabs, each secured to said sheet adjacent an edge thereof but otherwise free of the sheet so as to be swingable relative to the sheet to and from a position fiatwise overlying it, said tabs being spaced from one another along said edge of the sheet and each comprising a substantially deep pocket opening to said edge of the sheet to admit the fingers of an operator so that the tab can be guided and readily inserted into the cuff portion of a surgical glove, and each of said tabs having a sufficient width so that it holds apart the opposing faces of the cuff portion of a surgical glove to assure free passage of air out of the glove during autoclaving.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

